The new HE-MAN AND THE MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE film has been a long time coming but according to The Hollywood Reporter things are finally heating up. Columbia, the studio behind the movie, have hired PREDATORS scribes Mike Finch and Alex Litvak to write a screenplay for the upcoming reboot.
Apparently the two writers pitched a treatment which balanced their cinematic vision to Columbia whilst also keeping toy company Mattel satisfied that they wouldn’t disrespect their property. Not an easy task by any means but it must’ve been convincing enough as they have now managed to secure the gig.
HE-MAN, originally a kid’s cartoon about a superhuman prince and his friends defending Castle Grayskull from the evil Skeletor, has so far had a rocky road the screen. Originally the rights were in the hands of Warner Bros. but creative differences between the studio and Mattel caused them to part ways. Whilst at Warners HE-MAN went through several writers and at one point had John Stevenson, who co-directed KUNG FU PANDA, set to direct.
HE-MAN AND THE MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE is far too early in development for a projected release date but PREDATORS is set for release on the 9th of July.
Tag: sci-fi
Captain America and his Love Interest Get Closer
According to E! Online the casting of CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER’s female lead has been narrowed down today. English actresses Alice Eve (STARTER FOR 10, SEX AND THE CITY 2) and Hayley Atwell (THE DUCHESS, LOVE HATE) have both been called back for second test screenings.
The part is for Peggy Carter whom is basically Captain America’s love interest in the comics. Casting news for the feisty heroine has been rife lately; even Keira Knightley was mooted as a possible actress. Now it seems like it’s down to either Eve or Atwell, with a result likely next week. Which actress would you prefer to get the part?
CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER is due for release on the 22nd of July, 2011.
Ford Officially on board for Cowboys & Aliens
Harrison Ford’s (STAR WARS, INDIANA JONES) involvement in Jon Favreau’s (IRON MAN, ZATHURA) sci-fi western, COWBOYS & ALIENS, was confirmed today by the director on his Twitter account. Rumours have already been circulating as to whether Ford had been cast in the film but now Favreau has officially let the cat out of the bag.
Ford will act alongside Daniel Craig in the comic adaptation in which cowboys try to fend off extraterrestrial being in the old west. The plot sounds like a lot of fun and Favreau has more than proved himself as a director whom is up to the task. The addition of Ford to the cast could be the icing on the cake, provided the veteran actor lets loose his funnier side that, frankly, has been missing for far too long.
COWBOYS & ALIENS is currently in pre-production but already has a release date set for the 29th of July, 2011.
Tron 3 Already in the Works
TRON LEGACY isn’t even released for another eight months, but according to The Hollywood Reporter Disney are already planning it’s sequel. Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz (LOST), who worked on TRON LEGACY, have already begun writing a sequel for the studio.
No further details have emerged yet but rumours suggest that the writers are trying to tie all three films together as a coherent trilogy. Whether this means that LEGACY will have a cliff-hanger ending or whether the third film will focus on an unrelated storyline or spin-off is anyone’s guess at this point. Furthermore, none of the cast or crew have signed contracts for a third film and it hasn’t been greenlit as of yet.
These issues all rest upon the financial success of TRON LEGACY itself but Disney must be happy with what they’ve seen of the film so far if they’ve willing to start writing a third. We’ll know for sure when LEGACY is released on the 17th of December, later this year.
Lucas Working on a Star Wars Comedy Cartoon
That’s right, not quite content to leave his favourite galaxy just yet, director George Lucas (INDIANA JONES, STAR WARS) is planning yet another entry for the STAR WARS franchise; an animated comedy series. According to The Hollywood Reporter Lucasfilm Animation have announced their plans to a air a new series based on an irrelevant and comedic look at the STAR WARS universe.
Rather ironically both Seth Green and Matthew Senreich (who both worked on ROBOT CHICKEN parodies of the original STAR WARS films), as well as Brendan Hay of THE DAILY SHOW, are to lend a helping hand in proceedings. Green says,
The ‘Star Wars’ universe is so dense and rich; it’s crazy to think that there aren’t normal, mundane everyday problems in a world so well-defined. What do these characters do when they’re not overthrowing empires?
With Senreich adding,
We’re going to pull back the curtain of some of those behind-the-scenes shenanigans.
Almost everything about this new series seems a bit off. Why bother working for Lucasfilm Animation in making a comedy STAR WARS when they’ve both already done a fine job at it already? Besides, do we really need more STAR WARS, comedy or not? After the prequel trilogy and the CLONE WARS series I can’t say the prospect interests me in the slightest.
There’s no word yet on when the series will begin but I’d be surprised if it didn’t end up being broadcast on Cartoon Network or Adult Swim.
Nolan Lets Inception Plot Details Slip
The LA Times have been talking to director Christopher Nolan (THE DARK KNIGHT, MEMENTO) about his latest film, INCEPTION, which has so far been buried in secrecy. With only a few months until the film is released, and in the wake of two trailers, no one really seems to know what the plot for INCEPTION actually is. That is, until now.
Apparently the plot sees Leonardo DiCaprio’s (SHUTTER ISLAND, REVOLUTIONARY ROAD) character Dom Cobb as, “a specialist in the new branch of corporate espionage — he’s a dream thief who plucks secrets from the minds of tycoons after pumping them full of drugs and hooking them up to a mysterious contraption”. From the sounds of this plot synopsis and based on the footage we’ve seen so far INCEPTION sounds like itcould be the world’s first existential heist movie. Nolan confirms his intent for the film in the following statement,
I originally wrote it as a heist movie, and heist movies traditionally are very deliberately superficial in emotional terms. They’re frivolous and glamorous, and there’s a sort of gloss and fun to it. I originally tried to write it that way, but when I came back to it I realized that — to me — that didn’t work for a film that relies so heavily on the idea of the interior state, the idea of dream and memory. I realized I needed to raise the emotional stakes.
These new pieces of information about INCEPTION only serve to further my excitement for the film, which looks to be yet another clever, visually stunning and psychologically dense offering from Nolan. We’ll know for sure when INCEPTION is released on the 16th of July this summer.
Olivia Thrilby Cast in The Darkest Hour
According to The Hollywood Reporter Olivia Thrilby, who has played supporting roles in both JUNO and THE WACKNESS, has been cast as one of the lead characters in the new sci-fi epic THE DARKEST HOUR. Chris Gorak (RIGHT AT YOUR DOOR) is directing the film while Summit and New Regency provide the financial backing.
Gorak and Josh Zetumer are currently revising the script which follows a group of Americans travelling in Moscow as aliens attempt to invade the Earth. Thirlby will be playing a trust fun girl who bands up with others to try and defend the planet and stay alive in the process. THE DARKEST HOUR will mark the biggest career move for the young actress yet, as she steps up to leads lady status.
THE DARKEST HOUR is set to begin shooting this summer in Moscow.
Trailer Online for Resident Evil: Afterlife
Hot on the heels of the stills released last week Sony released a full trailer for the latest in it’s series of video game adaptations, RESIDENT EVIL: AFTERLIFE, yesterday. The trailer, first screened at WonderCon, starts out with the usual post-apocalyptic establishing shots but soon kicks out the standard Jovovich action scenes fans have come to expect.
More than this though, the trailer seems to go to great lengths to advertise the fact that this latest instalment was shot with Cameron’s patented 3D cameras. Over. And over. Again. Nothing in the trailer convinces me that AFTERLIFE will be any better than the previous films and it even looks like it can add THE MATRIX to the list of films it’s stolen from.
RESIDENT EVIL:AFTERLIFE is set for release on the 10th of September later his year. What do you think, does this trailer impress you or could you care less?
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New Iron Man 2 Clip Released
With the IRON MAN sequel only a month away it’s a surprise to be given any more footage from the film, especially since we’ve already been given so much, but here is a new clip from IRON MAN 2. The clip’s a short one but shows us a complete scene in which Robert Downey Jr. (SHERLOCK HOLMES, A SCANNER DARKLY) as the titular Iron Man, flies down to the ‘Stark Expo’.
IRON MAN 2 takes off where the first left us, the world now knows Iron Man’s identity while the US government demands Tony Stark hand over the Iron Man suit and numerous villains plot to take him out. The clip comes just after director Jon Favreau announced on his Twitter that he’s finished the final cut of the film and has handed it over to Marvel.
IRON MAN 2 is released on May 7th, but be sure to check out Cinefantastique Online’s review of the film on May 2nd.
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Captain America Cast Grows
Hot on the heels of the Chris Evans as Captain America announcement comes the news that Sebastian Stan ( THE COVENANT, HOT TUB TIME MACHINE) has been cast as his side-kick, Bucky Barnes, in the upcoming big-budget film adaptation of CAPTAIN AMERICA.
In the comics Bucky Barnes was a teenage orphan, eager to join the army but too young to enlist so instead became a mascot. It’s during this career change that he discovers Captain America’s true identity and becomes his partner, only to be killed off at the end of World War II and then resurrected in 2005.
Interestingly enough, Sebastian Stan was actually in the runnings to play Captain America himself at one point until Evans took the role. The shoot for CAPTAIN AMERICA is set to start this summer, with a 22nd of July, 2011 release date expected.